Kaycei's Journal - Don't eat dehydrated garlic!

[dacjohns]

Yep, as long as she lends me books and sends me Wisconsin cheese.

 

[kaycei]

Today we set up growlights in the basement. I hope the bulbs we got from Menards work well. They are Sullivan 40" florescent lights, that are designed to "stimulate" plants. The label says they are aquarium lights and they aren't putting out a lot of light. We set up a timer and have the lights hanging from chains, so we can adjust the height as the plants grow. The table is already 1/4 full of plants. We'll see how it goes.

I also picked up more seeds at Fleet Farm today, and will head back to Home Depot to pick up more seeds sometime during the week. Home Depot recently got a bunch of Burpee seeds in, and the price tag on the package is less than they are in the catalog. So I'm thinking I'll just buy them at Home Depot and then order the special seeds (like my Imperial Artichokes and some cool Marigolds) online.

In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs
Of every head he's had the pleasure to have known,

I was hoping all of Dac's grandkids would have a Beatles reference in their name, but I can't think of one for grandkid #3.

 

[dacjohns]

Yeah, youngest daughter didn't get with the program.

Watched Across the Universe.

 

[kaycei]

I have even more seeds now, but haven't planted them all yet. It will be by weekend project. I'm typically too worn out from work during the week to do anything other than eat, watch TV, do internet stuff and go to bed.

We got another cat today. Her name is Roxi.

Roxi is adjusting much faster than Lulu. If it wasn't for Lulu hissing at her, I'd say Roxi is just as adjusted as Lu, and Lu has been with us for two months now. (You can find a picture of Lulu at the Chit Chat instead of lurk thread!! )

Watched Across the Universe.

What did you think?

 

[dacjohns]

About Roxi or Across the Universe?

 

[dacjohns]

Across the Universe was OK. I think it got carried away with the psychedelic stuff. I liked all the subtle references to things from the 60s. I thought the songs supported the story line pretty well.

 

[dacjohns]

How is the heat in your house?

 

[kaycei]

Its a bit cold by my computer, but that is because of the draft coming in off the graffiti porch. I'm not sure how much oil we've gone through the past few days though. Its warm enough in the basement that more seeds have sprouted. But the mudroom door is really frosty and hard to close/lock at this point. I wonder what that room will be like when it is finished and heated. Seeing the effects from the cold worry me.

 

[kaycei]

Still continuing with getting my seeds started. I was really disappointed last year when I started my own seeds, and then went to the garden center at Fleet Farm and saw how much bigger all their plants were. So this year, I'm trying to grow everything from seed. I have at least 60 different varieties of seeds. This includes four different types of lisianthus, and six different types of artichokes. Five of the artichoke varieties haven't arrived yet and I'm getting anxious. I ordered them a week ago, and they haven't shipped yet. And the artichokes will need the longest growing season out of all my plants.
Artichokes typically aren't grown in my climate (Zone 4, practically 3- Wisconsin), but I'm determined to pull it off. I read about a farmer in Canada who is able to grow them commercially, so I'm hoping I can grow them for myself (hence the five different varieties--so I can test them to see which one grows the best here.)
Ideally, I'd like to grow my own vegetables this summer, and have enough left over for canning, drying, and freezing. I really don't know what to expect from a garden that is about a 1/4 acre large.
My husband has been pretty supportive so far. He has his own seeds planted already and is going to special order a super hot "ghost" pepper. And he will be putting up a greenhouse in the spring. But, he did mention staging an intervention for me if I get many more seeds.

 

[dacjohns]

Your mother is rubbing off on you with all the seeds you have.